President Noynoy Aquino promised a straightforward State of the Nation Address and he did just that. According to Pulse Asia, Noynoy got the highest trust rating ever recorded since 1999. His SONA was applauded 32 times, not a lot compared to the last SONA of his predecessor. There are different reactions to Noynoy’s SONA. Let me indulge myself and join the bandwagon of ranters and ravers.
The Good
*This is the part where I give a respectful nod and clap to our President.
President Aquino did not use too many rhetorics and metaphors. That being said, his SONA was very pleasing to the ears. I think the Filipinos had enough drama, metaphors and theatrical what-nots when it comes to our government officials. Besides his use of the straight and crooked paths, His SONA was indeed, straight to the point.
Half of President Aquino’s SONA was about improving our infrastructure, health care system, education, agriculture and creating jobs. Most of what he was trying to say point to bringing in new [and old] investors so the country can have enough budget for the government’s projects. He was big on Public-private partnership.
With Noynoy’s trust rating [and well, just being who he is actually, an Aquino], I think it won’t be so hard for investors to gain confidence in investing in our country (again). He said it in his SONA himself, many have already expressed interest in investing and helping the government carry out its projects. Noynoy got this one covered really well. Let’s hope these things really pan out.
The Bad
*This is where I start to rant.
The first part of Noynoy’s SONA was very, very disheartening – not because he was telling us that we do not have enough budget for the last 6 months of the year but because he put too much emphasis on what happened to the previous administration. The State of the Nation should be that – a state of the nation, a report on where our country stand on things and not an exposé of what the past president had done.
Okay, I get it, we all have the right to know what the government had done with the People’s money but Noynoy’s first part of the speech sounded like 3 things:
- He was complaining of all the problems the previous administration left for him to fix.
- He was crying over spilled milk.
- He was trying to make the past president look uglier than she already does. [just so everyone knows, I am not an Arroyo supporter] I mean, can Gloria’s face be uglier than it already is? Everyone eventually hated Gloria for the things she did in the government. We all know there are militants and groups of people who are itching to get Gloria prosecuted. Noynoy’s blatant exposé is like adding gas to an already burning fire.
What I am Hoping for
*This is where I interject a wistful sigh.
I wish Noynoy didn’t include his exposé on Gloria. I think it’s unnecessary. I’m sure the Government will do something about the past president’s actions but to expose these things the way Noynoy did I think was too much. It was a bit distasteful. Gloria is now in our past [even though she's now in congress, at least she's not the one heading the country anymore right?] and we’re all best to go our way and move forward. By moving forward, I was hoping for a united nation headed by a great leader. If it is Noynoy that’s meant to bring unity to this otherwise divided country, then let him do his job. But there is just no point any more in bawling over the past, let alone the wrong things that have already been done. What’s done is done. Either we do something about them or we ignore them. Saying them over and over again won’t do us any good.
We all have a lot of things to say. We are always good at complaining but we always fall short on our responsibilities as citizens of this country. Noynoy couldn’t run a nation alone. He needed every Filipino to do his job.
By the way, I had hoped for a SONA that included the environment and the reproductive health bill. Whatever happened to that bill? Infrastructures and jobs are cool but the basic unit of a society is the family. Any agenda on that one Mr. President?
This is the State of The Nation. Has any body cared to look at these?
a kid and a dirty river. photo from dailyherald.com
man swimming by slum. photo from blogs.bootsnall.com
homeless. photo from flickr.com
Readings:
Noynoy’s First SONA Applauded 32 times
Noynoy’s First SONA, Full Text
